Proposed MLB rule changes are mostly fine, but given the motive, the league is probably making a mistake

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FILE - A ball boy takes a fresh set of balls out to the home plate umpire djuring a spring training baseball game between the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, in Surprise, Ariz. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)

It's the top of the 10th inning, time to send a runner out to second base to start the inning.

That can't ever really happen in Major League Baseball, right?

With the rules changes the league is discussing with the players' union, I'd say it's best to be careful. You never know for sure. And while most of the rules being talked about are fine, and some are excellent, any league or sport that starts pondering radical change in order to get the attention of young viewers is probably making a mistake.

You never want to abandon your core audience while pursuing sets of eyes that just aren't interested.

Regardless, the discussion of putting a runner on second in extra innings continues. They might as well just have a quick home run derby or a throwing contest if they are going to start depositing runners in scoring position to start the inning. Does he get a run scored in his stats the equal of those who actually went all the way around the bases? It's just silliness.

But beyond that, the notion of adding the DH to National League games will get the most attention. I don't know why this one causes so much anguish. If you watch a high school game, a college game, a Puerto Rican game, you will see a DH. It's not the end of the world. The American League has had it for 46 years.

I believe the Commissioner's beloved pitching clock can work without being too obtrusive. One hopes that broadcasts won't feel compelled to post it on the screen for every pitch.

The bigger concern for managers is the proposal that would compel relievers to face at least three batters before being removed. This is the most radical rule change of all, given the manner in which left-handed specialists have become a reliable component in almost every bullpen. I think three is probably too many, and two would be fine, but there's nothing that causes fans to reach for the remotes faster than the manager walking to the mound batter after batter in the seventh inning.

Now could you make that change for the regular season and then do away with it for the playoffs? I think the proposal that would expand rosters to 26 but limit pitching staffs to 12 might go a long way toward fixing this problem.

I'll be surprised if most of these changes take effect, although I think the DH rule will be added to the National League, though presumably not for this season.

Baseball's history is what makes it great. Its constant struggles to capture the modern audience don't need to make a mockery of the game.